Ginsburg On Status As Lone Woman On The Court

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg seemed to be referring to comments made by Justice Stephen G. Breyer at a recent argument when she complained in a USA Today interview with Joan Biskupic about the problems she faces as the only woman on the court.

Her status as the court’s lone woman was especially poignant during a recent case involving a 13-year-old girl who had been strip-searched by Arizona school officials looking for drugs. During oral arguments, some other justices minimized the girl’s lasting humiliation, but Ginsburg stood out in her concern for the teenager.

“They have never been a 13-year-old girl,” she told USA TODAY later when asked about her colleagues’ comments during the arguments. “It’s a very sensitive age for a girl. I didn’t think that my colleagues, some of them, quite understood.”

If nominated, Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, who seems to have a reputation as a forthright participant in oral argument (to put it mildly), would no doubt put Breyer straight.